LaPhonso Ellis discusses North Carolina vs. Baylor NCAA Tournament showdown

North Carolina is looking to pull an upset over Baylor on Saturday. Prior, the ESPN College GameDay crew named the games that intrigue them most on Saturday’s slate. Evidently, LaPhonso Ellis will have his eyes on the showdown between the Tar Heels and the Bears.

“For me, it’s Baylor-North Carolina,” responded Ellis, when asked which game is most intriguing. “You talk about a Baylor team that’s playing without Jonathon Tchamwa Tchatchoua — one of the best ball-screen defending bigs, and one of the best post-defending bigs in the country. They’re going to be going against Armando Bacot — who’s been absolutely sensational. Terrific offensive rebounder, plays with his back to the basket. And with Brady Manek — I feel like they’re a great inside-out duo. His ability to be able to knock down the three.

“I’m really fascinated to see how they’re going to defend those two bigs today.”

North Carolina is coming off a huge victory over Marquette, where the game was never in-doubt. To illustrate, the Tar Heels defeated the Golden Eagles by a score of 95-63, led by the aforementioned Manek scoring 28 points. Additionally, guard Caleb Love showed his stuff, scoring 23 points in the victory.

On the other hand, Baylor eliminated all drama from their matchup against Norfolk State. Even while dealing with multiple injuries, the Bears defeated their opponent by 36. Leading the way was guard Matthew Mayer, scoring 22 points for Baylor in victory. Additionally, forward Jeremy Sochan added 15 off the bench for the Bears.

As you can see, both North Carolina and Baylor didn’t have too much drama in their 1st Round showdowns in the NCAA Tournament. However, Saturday’s showdown will be different — interested eyes will be watching to see which team advances to the Sweet 16.

North Carolina vs. Baylor: NCAA Tournament odds, final score predictions from ESPN, KenPom

The 8-seed North Carolina Tar Heels (25-9) take on the 1-seed Baylor Bears (27-6) in the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at 12:10 p.m. ET. Here’s how to watch, odds, ESPN BPI predictions and KenPom game predictions as well for both teams ahead of Saturday’s 2nd Round clash.

How to watch North Carolina vs. Baylor

Time: 12:10 PM ET

Channel: CBS

Location: Dickies Arena — Fort Worth, Texas

Odds

Baylor is a 5.5-point favorite over North Carolina on Saturday, according to Vegas Insider.

Money line: Baylor -238, North Carolina +193

Spread: Baylor -5.5, -110, North Carolina +5.5, –110

Total: Over/Under 148.5, -110

Check out the rest of Vegas’ odds for Saturday’s slate here.

ESPN BPI Predictions 

Matchup quality: 83.7%

Win probability: Baylor, 82.8%

Predicted point differential: 10.2

The College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward. BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Strength of Record (SOR) is a measure of team accomplishment based on how difficult a team’s W-L record is to achieve. 

Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day’s rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections. Numbers update daily,’ per ESPN.

For the rest of ESPN’s BPI predictions, click here.

KenPom Predictions

Score prediction: Baylor 78, North Carolina 71

Win probability: Baylor, 74%

Check out the rest of KenPom’s predictions for North Carolina vs. Baylor and the entirety of college basketball here.